Digging Deeper Into the $18M Underground House in Las Vegas

This house in Las Vegas will blow your mind. It isn't built to sustain a nuclear attack, but it is built 26 feet underground. And the subterranean structure is designed to make residents feel as if they're in a normal home with a yard, grass, swimming pool, trees, and murals painted to look like landscaping and the horizon.

It comes with an equally mind-bending price: $18 million. The price seems a bit aggressive, considering that the property last changed hands in 2015 for $1,150,000.

Did the current owners remodel it? Did they add secret spy gear? Or is the price simply a typo?

It's nothing of the sort, according to listing agent Stephan LaForge of BHHS Nevada Properties.

"The price reflects the price to rebuild," he explains. If an enterprising builder wanted to replicate this one-of-a-kind property in 2019, it would be nearly impossible.

LaForge says it would cost at least $18 million to dig a third-of-an-acre hole and reinforce it with a half-mile of solid-steel I-beams. Then you must factor in all the other features and amenities the bunker contains.

The property's current owners paid cash for the acre lot a little over four years ago. It has a five-bedroom, six-bathroom house (with pool!) underground, and a small townhouse above ground.

They've added some essentials, including repeaters that allow cellphone reception, cable, and internet below ground. They also replaced all eight air-conditioning units (you need to have plenty of fresh air down there!) and added a 1,000-gallon water tank, among other infrastructure improvements.

Ref:  Property Report